PCI x16 problems

ok, it went down like this:
was surfing the web a couple weeks ago, bored at the time.
i go to all my usual sites like normal, then i come to this one.
never once had a problem with this site, but this particular day i click on forums, and my computer crashes
hmm, that's odd. hard reset, doesn't boot. try again - same result.
ok, reinstall driver in safe mode . . . nothing
again . . . nothing
reformat, runs normally start installing all the software i use, get to the video driver card crashes again
reformat again, reinstall again, crashes again
do this about 7 times, same thing everytime
killdisk time, fresh install of everything sans video driver, works perfectly
been running like this for 3 weeks now, tried installing the video driver again . . . crashed
safe mode, uninstall driver, works fine
any ideas?

computer is a gateway core 2 duo standard crap you get from a store
video card is a pny geforce 8500 gt, bfg tech of similar specs, and a gigabyte a little lower (tried all 3)

i need something to work, cause i need open gl for some programs to work right
unless i can get open gl as a standalone program somewhere

PCI x16 problems

I'm not sure what the problem is, if it's BSOD that tends to mean that you're having hardware issues.
Are you seeing any codes at crash, or just black? The card itself could be glitching.
Have you uninstalled and unplugged the card, then booted up successfully; and THEN reinstalled the card after a successful boot?

Video drivers are one of those things I've found that some work and some don't, and it can not work in a big way. You can try several iterations of your current driver pack. Try one that is 6 months old or so, and work up from there, you can hopefully get a restore point at every upgrade too and just dial back if you run into the same problems.

PCI x16 problems

Besides it is time to upgrade from a 8500 I will have to say about the same as dmcgrath. Maybe start off with the video drivers that came with the card, if it crashes then I would say that whatever the drivers are trying to turn on on the card is bad and causing it to fail and crash.

PCI x16 problems

yeah i agree it is time to upgrade, but i'm saving to build me a whole new pc from the ground up

it has onboard sound and video, no hdmi, and no driver revisions that i know of

it boots to a black screen, it'll show the model of the card in the top left, then the gateway logo, but when it goes to load windows it blacks out

See if video displays in safe mode.
If so, disable all sound drivers in your Device Manger, uninstall the sound drivers.
Reboot in normal mode. See if this works.
DO NOT LET THE DEVICE MANAGE AUTOINSTALL THESE DRIVERS. If necessary disable the unknown device that appears afterwards.